D5-2 The Secret of Coolsville Central High School
by wsdsrdbw4096
Summary: A string of disappearances near their school forms a close bond between four California teens and a dog. Origin story for Dimension Five Timeline Two, which consists of SDWAY, TSDS, the first four DTVs, my upcoming reboot of SSDGC and the DC Animated Universe. Please read and review!
1. A typical school day

**Author's note: This story serves as the origin story for Dimension Five Timeline Two, which consists of late-1980s-early-1990s versions of SDWAY, early-1990s version of TSDS, the Case of the Moat Monster, the 1998-2001 DTVs (Zombie Island to Cyber Chase) and my upcoming reboot of _Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!_ In this dimension, all human members of the gang are born in 1972.**

 **This story takes some basis from the original script for the rubbish first live-action film (And believe me, the script is a whole lot better than the final product), along with my ongoing Dimension Four origin story _A Coolsville Central High School Story_ , the 2009 live-action film _The Mystery_ _Begins_ and the 1993 _Super Mario Bros_. film.**

 **Like Dimension Four, Coolsville is located in Southern California, near the Los Angeles metropolitan area.**

 **In addition, this dimension's timeline makes use of a floating timeline between 1999 and 2009, where characters ages once every five years, so for instance, Shaggy turns 27 in 1999, and then he turns 28 in 2004.**

 **Note: D5-2 (Dimension Five Timeline Two) is not to be confused with D52 (Dimension 52), which consists of my _City of Mysteries_ series and is darker and more serious than the stories in D5-2.**

 **I don't own _Scooby-Doo_. Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros. does.**

* * *

Chapter 1: A typical school day

 _October 3, 1988_

It was a typical Monday morning in the bedroom of Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy with dusty brown shaggy hair.

As usual, his alarm clock goes off at 7:30, leading the thin and tall teenager to groan as he shuts it off before stretching his arms.

"Man, I hate Mondays." He muttered under his breath as he stretched his arms and yawned.

After reluctantly getting off his comfortable bed, Shaggy made his way for the washroom, almost tripping over his pet Great Dane Scoobert "Scooby" Doo in the process.

"Like, morning, Scoob." He said to Scooby.

"Morning, Raggy." Scooby replied as he, too, stretched his legs and yawned before he getting up.

After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Shaggy returned to his bedroom and put on his trademark green shirt and brown pants before grabbing his schoolbag and made his way down the stairs to join his family at the breakfast table.

His father Chief of Police Samuel Chastain "Sam" Rogers was already at the dining table finishing his coffee and reading the newspaper, while his fourteen-year-old sister Maggie Rogers and mother Wendy Rogers were serving breakfast.

Sam is the city's chief of police, having been appointed to the post three years back by the city's police departmental board and mayor, who viewed him as the answer to solving the police departments decay following a string of scandals that questioned the credibility of the Coolsville Police Department. Prior to his promotion to captain, he had a reputation as an excellent detective who never fails to close a case and always pursues his cases relentlessly.

Wendy is a senior healthcare manager at the Coolsville Metro Hospital, having had worked as a nurse before. She and Sam met when the latter, as a young patrol officer, got admitted to the hospital after getting shot while taking part in a drug raid several years back, an act that led him to be awarded with the departments bravery metal after he managed to take down two heavily armed gangsters even after he got shot.

"Like, morning, Mom, Dad, Maggie." Shaggy says as he placed two waffles into the toaster before grabbing the cereal box, a bowl and the milk bottle and prepared his cereal breakfast and cup of water.

"Morning, Norville." Sam replied as he put down the newspaper. "Another case of Monday Blues, I suppose."

"Yeah." Shaggy replied after taking a sip of his water. "Like, I swear that the weekends aren't long enough for us to relax."

"Well, your mother and I had to go through having Sunday as the single day of the weekend back when we were your age, Norville." Sam pointed out as his son digged in. "You and Maggie and kids these days are lucky to have Saturday off nowadays."

"True." Maggie nodded as her brother dug into his breakfast.

"Are you alright, Sam?" Wendy asked her husband as she noticed his face looking like he was bothered by something. "You look like something's bothering you."

"Well, there has been another disappearance near Coolsville Central High School." Sam sighed. "That's the third one this month alone, and I'm really worried about the safety of Norville and Maggie, since my detectives can't really figure out what on earth was going on."

"Well, Norville's a grown boy, Sam." Wendy said. "He can take care of himself, right dear?"

"Like, you and Dad never questioned me when I asked to borrow the family car, Mom." Shaggy replied after taking a bite of his waffle with maple syrup. "Plus, I always return home with the car still in one piece."

"Yes, we know that." Sam said. "It's just that with these strings of disappearances near you school lately, son, and I really want you and Scooby to be vigilant, especially for any signs of suspicious activity, when you're at school."

"Like, don't worry, Dad." Shaggy reassured his father. "Scoob and I are always on the lookout for anything spooky. In fact, if we encounter danger or anything suspicious, the next thing you know, we're already down the road running on our way to the nearest police station."

"Good." Sam nodded in approval.

* * *

Later after breakfast, Shaggy grabbed his schoolbag and made his way to the front door, where Scooby was waiting.

After putting on his black sneakers, Shaggy bid his family farewell before he and Scooby made their way to their school.

As they made their way towards the sidewalk along Maple Street, they both took a glance at the large mansion across the street.

Right at where Maple Street ends and joins Easy Street is the Blake Mansion, home to the Blake family, who is among the city's wealthiest citizens.

Both Shaggy and Scooby knew the Blake family daughter, in the form of the attractive sixteen-year-old red-haired girl named Daphne Blake, who is in fact a schoolmate of them, although they rarely interact with her.

The walk to Coolsville Central High School took about twenty minutes, and when they arrived at the school entrance, Scooby immediately splits up with him.

"Like, have fun at the canine hangout, Scoob." Shaggy said to Scooby.

"Ri will, Raggy." Scooby replied with a smile before joining his waiting friends.

Watching Scooby shaking paws with his cousin Scooby Dum, as well as with Huckleberry Hound, Spike the Bulldog and Ruff, Shaggy sighed as he entered the school.

As he made his way to his locker in the juniors locker section, he ran into some of his friends, many of them greeting him with handshakes and fist-bumping.

"There's Central's swingingest!" One of the sophomores remarked as they saw Shaggy.

Shaggy nodded and smiled proudly as he heard the remark. As Central's swingingest gym student, he has taken part in a large number of gymnasium activities and events, including state championships in which he had helped the school won first place in the past school year.

Also, he was known for his proficiency in the guitar and was a guest guitarist in a concert of the pop band _Mysteries Five_ , whose members are all Coolsville Central alumni and consists of Geoff Silverman, Michael "Mike" Sanders, Kelly McDougal, Linda Rickman, her twin brother Walter Wilkins "W.W" Rickman and their pet dog Too-Much, all of whom are good friends with him.

In addition, he serves as the school's radio voice, doing the morning announcements and playing music during recess time under the training of long-time radio host Cameron Kasem.

After putting his school bag into his locker, he grabbed a binder, placed a pencil on his left ear and swiftly made his way to the main office, where the school radio station is located at.

As he entered the main office, Daphne, who was carrying a pile of papers and leaving the editor room, accidentally collided with him.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy said as they bumped into each other.

"Jeepers!" The girl said as she dropped the pile, leading the papers to scatter around. "Sorry about that!"

"Like, don't worry about it." Shaggy replied as he stopped to help her pick up the scattered papers. "I should've watched where I was going."

"Well, they didn't call me 'Danger-Prone Daphne' for nothing." Daphne replied as she crouched down to pick up the papers.

"I see." Shaggy nodded understandingly as he continued helping. In no time did they finish picking up the papers. "Like, do you need help? The stack looks pretty high."

"Oh, no." Daphne replied with a smile. "I'm fine, but thanks anyways."

"Like, no problem." Shaggy smiled back before they carried on with whatever they were doing.

Soon, Shaggy sat in the broadcasting booth with the headphones on, and after Mr. Kasem tested the equipment and made sure everything is working out smoothly, the bell rang and they went on the air.

During the five-minute recess period, Shaggy started playing Billy Idol's _Don't Stop_ album, with the rock stars version of _Mony Mony_ playing first through the speakers.

After the bell rang, Shaggy's radio voice started echoing throughout the school.

"Like, good morning, Central. It's Central's Swingingest Shaggy Rogers on the chair here with your morning announcements, right after the national anthem and pledge of allegiance." Shaggy spoke.

His voice was soon replaced by the performance of the national anthem, followed by the pledge of allegiance.

Once that was done, he started going through the morning announcements, mentioning the purchase of yearbooks and upcoming Halloween party, in addition to a special note about the recent disappearances near the school grounds and the need for the faculty to remain vigilant to stay safe as the police continue to investigate those disappearances.

Eventually, he ended his radio broadcast by saying, "And that's all for today, Central. Have a wonderful day. Shaggy Rogers signing off."

With that, the radio network went off the air.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	2. United by a terrible accident

Chapter 2: United by a serious car accident

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Coolsville Central High School, a young, shy sixteen-year-old girl with short, chin-length auburn-brown hair and wearing an orange turtleneck, red skirt, long orange socks, a pair of red Mary Janes and a pair of black, thick-framed square glasses named Velma Dinkley was seated at her desk for her chemistry class.

The chemistry teacher Mr. McDabble was teaching a new topic that she had studied for the night before and is largely familiar with, which makes her feel bored during the class.

As Mr. McDabble went on with his lesson, Velma glanced outside the nearby window and sighed.

Many years ago, when she was only five, her parents were killed in a horrific accident in the outskirts of Coolsville when the car they were driving skidded off the paveway while attempting to pass a truck, smashed through a poorly-designed guardrail and then crashed into a creek far below the cliff. That accident also claimed the lives of five other people.

In the investigation of the accident, it was revealed that the section of the roadway was poorly designed and the pavement markings have indicated that the section was safe to pass even though the conditions suggested otherwise. However, even after the roadway was redesigned and met safety standards, it wasn't enough to bring her parents or the other five victims back.

As an only child, she was devastated by the loss of her parents.

Fortunately, her mother's younger cousin Nicole Welker has received her doctorate's degree at the time of the accident and was attached to her only first cousin-once removed, so following the accident, Nicole became Velma's guardian and they later moved to Ohio when the former got a job there.

During her whole time in Ohio, Velma mostly stayed to herself, mainly focusing on her studies and winning high marks and grades at school.

Eventually, following Nicole's job transfer back to Coolsville during the past summer, Velma was transferred to Coolsville Central High School in time for the 1988-1989 school year.

As with her time in Ohio, Velma mostly kept to herself at school. However, she had caught the attention of one particular blonde.

Frederick "Fred" Jones, a sixteen-year-old blond-haired boy wearing a white shirt, light blue jeans, orange ascot and light brown shoes, has know the girl indirectly for a long while.

His father Jefferson "Skip" Jones was the attorney that represented relatives of the victims of the road accident that had also claimed the lives of the Dinkley's that sued Gosnell and Associates, which was the construction firm responsible for the initial construction of the road, for negligence, and during the trial, it was brought up that many of the engineering projects that were handled by the firm were plagued by safety defects and cost-overruns.

The suit ended with the construction firm being forced to pay the relatives millions in compensation and shut down its construction activities, but like the redesigning of the roadway where the fatal accident occurred, it wasn't enough to bring back the seven lives lost.

Fred remembered his kindergarten days when he will see the young Velma's sad face at kindergarten, and he had made a promise to himself to take care of the orphaned Velma, although he never had gotten to fulfill that promise after she moved to Ohio.

That is, until this past summer when the orphaned girl moved back to Coolsville.

During and outside of school, Fred often keeps an eye on Velma, not wanting anything bad to happen to her as he continued to fulfill his promise to take care of her.

However, for some reason, he also felt like there's something in his heart that's longing for Velma, even though they barely knew each other and never interacted with each other.

During his shared chemistry class with Velma, Fred noticed her staring out of the window and sighed.

He didn't blame her for the habit. He knew that she still missed her parents and is longing to have them back, even though it's not possible.

He sighed as he turned his attention back to their class.

* * *

Meanwhile after finishing with the morning announcements, Shaggy made his way to his English class, but as he prepared to enter the classroom, he once again bumped into Daphne.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Daphne said when they bumped into each other. "I really should have watched where I was going."

"Like, don't worry." Shaggy replied. "I guess I'm just exhausted from the Monday Blues."

"No kidding." Daphne nodded as they entered the classroom together, where they took the two vacant seats at the front.

Their English class went by as usual, and when the bell rang, they got up and headed for their locker.

As they made their way down the hallway, they saw Velma walking down the hallway, heading the opposite direction with Fred following her.

Seeing the sad look on Velma's face, Shaggy sighed and shook his head with pity.

"Is something bothering you, Shaggy?" Daphne asked when she overheard his sigh.

"Like, I feel sorry about Miss Dinkley over there." Shaggy replied, gesturing towards Velma as he spoke.

Seeing Velma, Daphne nodded. "I see what you mean, Shaggy. Her parents were killed in that horrific car accident eleven years ago and my father's company spent a lot of money having the road redesigned after the accident."

"Yeah." Shaggy nodded. "Too bad it didn't do anything in getting her parents back, and my father will never forget that fateful day."

Shaggy's father Sam was the police captain that organized and directed the search and recovery team at the scene of the accident that fateful day, and one thing to note was that prior to becoming a police officer, Sam had served in the Army Corps of Engineers and had some experience in roadway construction. Thus, the police captain was able to figure out that the road was poorly-designed without the aid of transportation safety investigators and engineers.

Then-Captain Sam Rogers was also the officer that went to the Dinkley's place and deliver the grim news to the babysitter and the then-five-year-old Velma. He will never forget the look on her face and her crying, as well as his efforts to comfort her.

Following the submission of the technical report on the accident, Blake Enterprises was selected to do the redesign of the roadway by the city, which was actually a move approved by the then-mayor that was facing reelection in the aftermath of a firestorm at City Hall related to his handling of the contract.

During his time as a councilman, the then-mayor was responsible for handling the contract related to the design of the roadway where the accident occurred during that roadway's design phase, and he was instrumental in awarding the contract to Gosnell and Associates.

Well, if the mayor thought that the damage control could save his reelection campaign, he was wrong. He lost his bid for reelection, and he was later dogged by a series of controversies related to his term as mayor and his acts.

"Yeah." Daphne nodded after Shaggy told her the story before deciding to change the channel. "So where are you heading for?"

"Like, gymnasium." Shaggy replied.

"Ah, that's where I'm heading, too." Daphne said.

"Oh, okay." Shaggy smiled before the two schoolmates made their way to their gymnasium class together.

* * *

 **Any thoughts on Velma's backstory?**

 **Please read and review!**


	3. Several flashbacks of the police chief

**Note: This extended flashback sequence is inspired by and based on the Batman Zero Year arc and story _Whistleblower's_ _Blues_ , which featured Commissioner James Gordon.**

 **The original storyline belongs to the editors at DC Comics, not me.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Several flashbacks of the chief of police

Shaggy has always loved gymnasium class. His physical accomplishments were always the centre of the discussion in class, not to mention that the gym teachers considered him as one of their most favourite students, due to his role in helping the school win first prize in various athletic and gymnastic competitions.

After the warm-up, the class headed out to the track for some running.

As the swingingest student and the fastest, Shaggy was, as always, the first student to finish running around the track.

"You've set a new record, Rogers." The gym teacher said as he looked at his timer after Shaggy crossed the finish line.

"Like, wow, Mr. Kane." Shaggy remarked. "I guess I wasn't as exhausted from the morning as I thought."

"I suppose so, Mr. Rogers." Mr. Kane said as he smiled proudly at his favourite student.

During the conversation, Shaggy didn't notice that Daphne was smiling at him as she watches him chat with Mr. Kane.

Nor did anyone notice a suspicious-looking figure watching the students from the nearby bushes on the other side of the nearby fence.

* * *

Meanwhile, in his office on the ninth floor of the headquarters of the Coolsville Police Department, Chief of Police Sam Rogers was taking a brief break from the paperwork and walked over to view the city from the balcony.

As he look at the city in front of him, his mind flashed through what he had to go through over the past ten years.

FLASHBACK - Ten Years Ago

 _May 9, 1978_

Four months after his transfer to Coolsville from New York, then-Lieutenant Sam Rogers was examining the map of Coolsville in the office of the commander of the Major Crimes Division.

That map was scattered with flag-shaped pins pinpointing the locations of the robbery-murders that has hit the city and neighbouring Big City in the past week or so. A series of robbery-murders being the handiwork of a criminal gang known as the "Hyde Gang" under the leadership of a certain "Mr. Hyde"

For weeks, he and his assigned partner Detective Arnold Stokes investigated the scenes of the robbery-murders. However, it seems like his partner doesn't seem to be interested in doing the investigations, caring only about what the other cops do, such as driving around town and maybe pick up a few donuts and coffee.

Also, Stokes never go through the due diligence of investigating the crime scenes properly, even making long drives to get to the scene, which allowed the robbers to be long gone from the scene by the time they arrive.

His partners actions made him wonder if he was simply stupid or sloppy, although as the days went by, it came to him that Stokes was completely crooked.

Around that same time, a vigilante dressed as a blue falcon, accompanied by a robot dog, started making their marks in Coolsville after several reported sightings of them in neighbouring Big City.

As he figures out a pattern on the robbery-murders, he heard someone walking into the office.

"What are you up to, Lieutenant Rogers?" The man asked.

"Ah, hello, Chief." Sam replied as he turned around to face Chief of Police Gillian F. Hill. "I believe I had figured out a pattern behind those Hyde Gang robbery-murders, sir."

He then gestured towards the map as he continued, "Over the past week or so, there has been sightings of the Hyde Gang in both Big City and Coolsville, and the pins on this map pinpoints the locations where the sightings were confirmed, along with the scenes of that gang's robberies and killings."

He then traced his finger around the outer radius of the pins on the map as he continued, "As you may have noticed, sir, all of those sightings and crime scenes are within a one-kilometre radius away from Willie Chemical Corporation, right on this island on the bay bordering Big City."

Turning to the chief of police, he added, "I believe I should go over to interview its CEO William 'Willie' Corden, who I heard is as cunning as a weasel, and I believe..."

 **(Note: William "Willie" Corden is a retconned version of Willie the Weasel from the _Dynomutt, Dog Wonder_ episode _Everyone Hyde!_ for this dimension)**

"That's not what you're going to be doing, Lieutenant." Hill cut in sharply. "Right now, your main priority is tracking down a vigilante and his robot dog sidekick, who are operating in our city illegally. I want you to track them down and stop them."

"Yes, sir." Sam replied. "But they've been doing a lot of help to the city lately. For instance, just last week, they turned over evidence of the mayor's involvement in a money-laundering operation to the DA's office, which led to his impeachment and resignation. I believe our priority should be the Hyde Gang robbery-murders, and..."

"I don't give a you-know-what on what you think, Lieutenant." The chief said as he turned to leave. "I want those vigilantes caught. Big City police wouldn't touch them for whatever reason they gave us, but we are. Someday, when you occupy the ninth floor, Rogers, you can make the calls whatever you feel suits you well, but until then, you only do what the command staff and I ordered."

He then turned to leave, leaving Sam alone in the office.

* * *

In spite of the chief's orders, Sam decided to proceed with the interview anyways, reasoning that given the vigilante is the only person he knows that get things done with productive results and does things his way, he should be able to do the same thing.

He arrived at the headquarters of the Willie Chemical Corporation after a 30-minute drive and proceeded to the reception desk, where he then showed his badge as he spoke to the secretary, "This is Lieutenant Sam Rogers of the CPD, requesting to speak with Mr. William Corden."

"Hold on for a second, Lieutenant." The secretary replied before reaching for the phone.

As he waited, Sam took a stroll and saw a pile of chemical products. He secretly took a bottle just as the secretary finished her phone call.

"I apologize, lieutenant." The secretary said. "He's unavailable at the moment, and..."

"It's okay." Sam replied curtly, deciding to pose as a drunken cop typically seen in Coolsville. "I must have gotten a memory lapse from my drinking last night and wasn't thinking straight for some reason..."

* * *

Shortly after, he was at the Science and Forensics Division lab where his friend Detective Andrew Kasem started analysing the chemical product he secretly snatched from the headquarters of Willie Chemical Corporation.

"Good grief!" The technician said when the results came in. "This product contains traces of a serum that can mutate people into Hyde-like creatures, Sam. You know those Hyde Gang members pulling those robbery-murders? I can tell you that it is a safe bet that they were exposed to the serum that turned them into those Hyde creatures!"

"That explains a lot!" Sam remarked. "Thanks for the help, Andrew."

"No problem." Kasem nodded as the lieutenant made his way back to his office, knowing that Willie is behind those robbery-murders.

* * *

 _May 16, 1978_

That morning, in the squad room of Major Crimes Division, the detectives can hear the police chief's angry outburst after Sam told him of the latest developments in the Hyde Gang's robbery-murder case.

"You doggone snake in the grass!" Hill said angrily. "What did I tell you about following orders, Rogers?"

"I know, I know, Chief." Sam raised his arms in a calming gesture. "But you really should hear this one out. Willie Chemical Corporation has been in financial trouble lately with the oil crash. One look at its recent annual report tells you the whole story."

"And its CEO is engaging in a protection racket and directing those Hyde creatures in robbing and murdering those that didn't comply?" Hill asked. "That's one serious accusation directed to a powerful individual if you ask me, Lieutenant."

"Yes, Chief." Sam nodded before continuing. "It gets worse from here. His chemical products contains traces of a serum that turns people into Hyde creatures, a serum that also has mind control abilities and allowing Mr. Hyde himself to direct those under his influence to do anything as he pleases. Worst thing is that he'd got dozens of our men on his payroll as his private security, or rather, being paid to look the other way and hamper any investigations into his crooked activities."

The chief sighed and rubbed his nose before saying, "Look, lieutenant. I told you that the vigilante is your main priority, and..."

"Innocent people are dying, Chief." Sam cut in sharply. "It's already an embarrassment to see a vigilante and his sidekick doing the job **we're** supposed to be doing. Do you actually want to stand by and watch more innocents losing their lives? The very people we are suppose to serve and protect?"

There was some silence in the office. Then, Hill sighed.

"I've got a man I believe can help you, Lieutenant." He said before reaching for his phone and dialed a number.

When the party on the other end answered, the chief ordered. "I want to speak to Internal Affairs Lieutenant Milo Graham."

* * *

 _May 23, 1978_

That stormy night, Sam found himself held on gunpoint as he, Graham and several of Willie's men were driven to the rusty old Turner Bridge that links Coolsville with Big City. A bridge with a rather hideous reputation as a hotspot for suicides.

In the week after his assignment with Graham, the duo spent day after day doing surveillance on Willie and his men (Including the officers on his payroll) and collecting evidence.

That evening, he and Graham followed the men to Coolsville Harbor, where the former is to follow the men and record their transactions and signal the latter once the money is in Willie's hands.

Sam agreed and did as he was instructed. When the moment came, he flashed his flashlight repeatedly as a signal for Graham to move in with his men.

Turns out that Graham was actually one of the crooked cops under Willie's payroll, and everything went south on Sam as he was being held on gunpoint.

The crooked cops suggested shooting him, but Willie suggested throwing him off the suicide bridge. It works, too, since he didn't have much friends in Coolsville and finds himself frustrated by his work, so throwing him off the bridge will lead his death to be ruled suicide.

At first, Graham was to take Sam on the drive to throw him off the bridge, but he got an emergency call to respond to at the last minute, so Willie offered to do the job with his men instead.

So there he was, sailing in the air and plunging down into the shallow river water stories below.

However, just as he was about to hit the water, a pair of arms appeared out of nowhere and grabbed hold of him by the chest, preventing him from entering the water and get himself knocked out by the sharp rocks beneath the surface and drown.

As it turned out, the falcon and his sidekick had saw his signal at the warehouse. They saw him being cornered by Willie the Weasel and his men, being shoved into the car and followed them to the bridge.

"Alright, Dog Wonder." The falcon said to his sidekick. "You take care of Willie the Weasel while I handle their victim."

"Right with you, Blue Falcon!" Dog Wonder saluted before splitting up.

As the Blue Falcon saved Sam's life, Dog Wonder flew over to Willie's car and set up a time bomb on rear of the car.

The time bomb went off after the car crossed into Big City, causing it to crash.

At that moment, the Blue Falcon, carrying Sam, swooped over and grabbed Willie while Dog Wonder caged the others.

"Th-th-the Blue Falcon!" Willie exclaimed as he recognized the Blue Falcon.

"And Dynomutt, Dog Wonder!" Dog Wonder added after caging Willie's men.

"That's right, Mr. Corden, or do you prefer, Mr. Hyde?" BF said. "You are under arrest for murder, extortion, fraud, vandalism, grand larceny and attempted murder!"

"Oh, drat!" Willie sighed as Sam looked at him with anger in his eyes.

Turning to the Blue Falcon, Sam said, "There are two more cops that are involved in this, and one of them is in the second car heading elsewhere to take care of something."

"While Dog Wonder and I round up the rest of the Hyde Gang, you go carry on with your work, Lieutenant." The Blue Falcon said. "Finish the job you started."

Sam nodded and grinned as he figured out his next move, which he felt will answer a question that lingered in his mind the moment Graham revealed his true colours.

Why did he wasted a week of his life helping him building the case against his fellow corrupt officers under Willie's payroll?

* * *

A short time later, Graham was back at police headquarters after handling his emergency call, which was nothing more than a discovery of what was thought to be human skeletal remains, a discovery that turned out to be simply animal bones.

During this time, the detectives noticed Sam's absence and threw questions at him.

"Oh, Sam?" Graham asked. "Well, he left after we finished the roundup at the harbour. He seemed a bit depressed and sad when I last saw him...must have something to do with his broken family...he mentioned heading for the old Turner Bridge for a walk to clear his mind, and..."

As Graham was making up the excuse for Sam's absence, he didn't saw the lieutenant entering the squad room with anger in his eyes.

Tapping Graham's shoulder, Sam said. "Hello, Graham."

Graham, stunned when he heard the voice, turned and looked, in time for Sam to give him a punch and knock him out.

"Internal Affairs Lieutenant Milo Graham." Sam said. "You're under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, fraud, assaulting a fellow officer and corruption."

However, just as he finished, Stokes took out his weapon and pointed it at him.

"I don't think so, Rogers." Stokes says as Sam turned and was forced to raise his hands in surrender as the chief of police enters the squad room. "You're a fool if you think you can turn in Graham. You've just assaulted a fellow officer in front of a dozen witnesses, including the chief."

"Well, you know something, Stokes?" Sam asked as he reached into his trench coat and pulled out a file. "I've been doing some vigilante work of my own. And Chief Hill, if you send in a squad to 1113 Roman Drive, you'll see that I had broken in to the address an hour ago and looted its wall safe, where I found this."

Showing the chief and Stokes the file he obtained from the address, Sam continued, "This file is an insurance policy that documented the Hyde Gang's activities and Willie the Weasel's connections to Graham and Oakley. In case Graham were to fall out of favour with Willie, the policy clause indicates that the officers involved in the protection racket will benefit from the insurance payments."

Turning to his soon-to-be ex-partner, Sam added, "Your name is in the files, Stokes. It's details your involvement in the racket. You're toast."

Stokes' eyes widened the moment Sam showed the file. He gripped his weapon and continued to aim it at Sam's head.

"You're a fool if you think you're going to bring me down, Sam." Stokes says. "One move and you're down!"

Just then, Hill ordered, "Detective Stokes, stand down!"

"No!" Stokes replied in defiance as he prepared to squeeze the trigger.

With Sam still a little shaken by the ordeal at the Turner Bridge, he wasn't able to grab his weapon. It seems like Stokes has nothing to loose.

Stokes was about to squeeze the trigger when suddenly, he looked really foolish before slumping to the ground after dropping his weapon.

Standing behind him was Officer Charles "Charlie" Chan, his hand holding his gun, which he had used to knock Stokes off.

"The Man said stand down." Chan said to Stokes. "I thought English is your first language!"

* * *

The documents Sam obtained were key to him being cleared of any wrong-doing, and they also lead to the indictment of dozens of officers once thought to be Coolsville's Finest.

Chief Hill was the one that ordered the officers' suspensions and witnessed their escorting to a police wagon, to be shipped to court to face charges.

"Get these disgraces out!" Hill ordered the arresting officers as Sam looked on. "I don't want to see their faces in this building or any other station house again!"

* * *

The suspension of those officers didn't do much good to the department. It added in strain in resources and manpower in the already-understaffed police department, and by the time the police was able to make their move on Oakley, the crime boss had already fled from his hideout and with the Blue Falcon and Dog Wonder preoccupied with the gangs in Big City, such as the rampages of the Stone Age Gang under the leadership of Lowbrow and the Bogmyer Gang under Swamp Rat, there was nothing the authorities could do to capture Oakley.

After fleeing Coolsville, Oakley began a new base of operations in a castle located somewhere in the hideous corners of the countryside and has begin to rebuild his criminal empire.

Prior to that, he also cleaned up the house, with the suspended officers being the first casualties.

Stokes was the first to be hit, as a result of a car accident when his brakes failed to work, although it was suspected that they were sabotaged by Oakley's men as a result his failure to hamper the investigation on Willie.

The last casualty was Graham, who ended up suffering the fate that was meant for Sam. His failure to eliminate Sam was a contribution to his untimely demise.

The chief of police was also a casualty from Oakley's cleaning of the house, due to him being the one that assigned Graham with Sam.

 _July 9, 1978_

That day, after meeting with the police departmental board, Hill broke the news to Sam that he has resigned from the force, a week after the latter was promoted to captain.

As Sam watches him moving his belongings into his car, he wondered if Hill was also involved in Oakley's ring. If that was the case, he couldn't help but wonder just how deeply entrenched the corruption is in Coolsville.

However, as the former police chief turned and looked at him, he realized that Hill was wondering the same thing.

Prior to his departure, Hill placed his hand on Sam's shoulder as he said, "Keep up the good work, Samuel. The fight's far from over. This city needs people like you, and I can see you occupying the ninth floor someday, making a huge difference."

As he watched Hill driving away, the now-Captain Sam Rogers came to a realization.

A realization on the difficulties Hill had to go through during his tenure as chief and his subsequent resignation to the reality that he had lost control of the CPD long ago and given up the fight for reform.

He made a vow not to follow the same path Hill took.

END OF FLASHBACK

He also remembered that a few weeks after Hill's resignation, he was called in to direct a search and recovery team at the scene of a terrible car crash. He had also took notice of the road design and was the officer that went to inform the next of kin of two of the victims.

He will never forget the sad look on the young girl's face, her breaking down into tears and his efforts to comfort her.

And now, back to today, there he is occupying the ninth floor and calling the shots.

The department's in a better shape than it was ten years back, and he also credited his handpicked crew of commanders and detectives for helping him out.

Remembering what Hill had told him on his last day as chief, Sam sighed before turning to look at the Turner Bridge in the distance, as well as the nearby Coolsville Harbor.

The places where everything begin for a new reality of policing in Coolsville.

Also the place where his cooperation with the Blue Falcon and Dog Wonder begin.

As he returned to his desk, Lieutenant Chan burst into his office without a knock. He looked like he had a run for his life and was clearly panting.

"What is it, Charlie?" Sam asked.

"There's been another one, sir." Charlie said.

"Another disappearance at Coolsville Central High School?" Sam asked. "That's the second one this week!"

"I know, sir." Charlie sighed as he leads the chief out of his office as they head off to investigate.

* * *

 **Uh oh. Looks like someone else has disappeared. What will happen next?**

 **Stay tuned, and please read and review!**


	4. A lockdown

Chapter 4: A school lockdown

Meanwhile, back at Coolsville Central High School, the students warming up at the track were ordered back to the school building for a lock down as police was called.

"How could she had vanish like that?" Tinker asked, referring to the female student that vanished in the library earlier.

"Like, search me." Shaggy shrugged. "Perhaps there's something going on in the school library."

As soon as they entered the school building, Mr. Kane ordered the students to stay in the gym.

"Everyone, stay inside the gym until the lockdown has been lifted." He ordered. "And nobody make any noise during the lockdown."

Soon, everyone was gathered in the gym before Mr. Kane headed for his office located just next to the gym and with a glass window facing both the gym and the hallway.

In the same time, police cruisers arrived at the school front entrance, where Principal Spears was waiting.

The third cruiser arrived and stopped, and out came Chief of Police Sam Rogers, who promptly walked over to the school principal.

"This is like the second time this week alone, Mr. Spears." Sam said as he and several officers approaches the principal.

"I know, Chief Rogers." Spears replied. "Has there been any new developments in the investigation in this string of disappearances?"

"I'm afraid not." Sam replied. "Who's the victim?"

"Debora 'Debbie' Golonka." Spears replied as they escort the chief of police over to the library. "She's a junior in the school cheer-leading team and was last seen at the library."

"The site of the past three disappearances." Charlie interjected.

"Correct." Spears nodded. "Before we go on, I want to be be assured that your men can handle this and find out who's responsible, Chief Rogers."

"I wish I could say that with full confidence, Mr. Spears." Sam sighed. "While there has been plenty of connections between the victims, such as them being, well, attractive female students involved in a school club, my men are still baffled by the whereabouts of the victims, not to mention that neither of the victims knew each other or has someone in common that will wish them harm."

Mr. Spears nodded understandingly. "I wish I can be in your position, sir, because if I were you, I'll ask for some help."

"That's what we had in mind, Mr. Spears." Sam replied. "And we'll be happy to use the help we can. Sadly, Big City Police has the Blue Falcon and Dog Wonder occupied with dozens of cases, and the Toth League has been busy elsewhere with problems of their own."

 **(Note: The Toth League in this dimension, as well as Dimension Four, is a superhero league consisting of Hanna-Barbera superheroes created by Alex Toth, so Space Ghost, The Herculoids, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio are members of this league.)**

"Well, then it looks like that unless we have a miracle, this string of disappearances at my school is going to run cold." Spears sighed as they entered the library.

Sam didn't reply as he stood back while the officers get to work.

* * *

Several moments later in the gym, Mr. Kane waited in his office while the students waited silently in the gym with the lights out.

It wasn't long before two uniformed officers approached the office door and revealed the badges as Kane answered.

Entering the gym through the office, the two officers looked around in the crowd of students before spotting Shaggy.

Nodding, one of them reported through the radio and said, "Inform Kilo that Sierra is secured."

Understanding the code language used by the officers, Shaggy knew that the "Kilo" is the coded name for his police chief father, while "Sierra" is the code name for him.

"Kilo? Sierra?" Daphne asked as she turned to Shaggy upon overhearing the message.

"Like, that's the coded name the cops used for my father and I, Daph." Shaggy whispered.

"Ah, I see." Daphne nodded understandingly.

It was then that the two officers said to Mr. Kane, "Tell the students that they can resume their activities quietly, but no one will be allowed to leave the gym until we give the all-clear."

"Yes, officer." Kane nodded before the two officers leave.

* * *

Back in the school library, investigators were still searching for signs of Debbie after an extensive interview with possible witnesses.

"This sure is baffling, chief." One of the investigators said. "There's been no sign of a struggle, especially given that no one heard anything in the library, and it was only after one of the victims friends noticed that she wasn't around did they alert us."

"I sure hate to see this one going into the books as 'Unexplained disappearances'." Sam replied.

"If no one heard anything, then the victim must have wondered off to somewhere isolated within the library." Charlie theorizes. "Perhaps some place where it's isolated enough so that no one else could hear anything if there's a struggle."

"Could be." The investigator agreed.

It was then that one of the officers entered the library and went for the chief.

"Sir, the officers had searched through the school grounds and no sign of any suspicious person on school grounds." The officer reported.

"Alright." Sam nodded. "Have the lockdown lifted, Mr. Spears."

The principal nodded before leaving with two officers accompanying him.

* * *

After the lockdown has been lifted, officers continued to remain at the school for extra security.

During the lunch period, Shaggy was seated at his usual spot enjoying his lunch. Most of his friends were out of school for lunch that particular day, so he was on his own.

As he finished a triple-decker sandwich, he noticed Daphne was staring at him as she carried her lunch.

"Uh...hi." She said. "I was wondering if you mind if I use the chair across from you, Shaggy?"

Noticing the chair she was gesturing at, Shaggy shrugged. "Like, be my guest, man."

"Thanks." Daphne smiled as she took the seat.

There was some silence between the two schoolmates as they ate their lunch.

The silence was broken when Shaggy happened to turn his head and saw his police chief father walking towards him.

"Hey, Pops." Shaggy said as his father approached him.

"How are you, Norville?" Sam asked as he joined his son at the table. "I hope you guys weren't shaken by the lockdown this morning."

"Like, given what has happened in the library, Pops, I understand." Shaggy replied. "It had to be done."

"Say, speaking of the lockdown, Chief Rogers." Daphne said, deciding to join the conversation. "Do you have any idea on what has happened to Debbie?"

"My men are looking into it, Miss Blake." Sam replied. "We're trying everything we could, but so far there's no sign of her whereabouts."

"That's too bad." Shaggy frowned. "It's the second time this week that this has occurred, Pops."

"I know, son." Sam agreed. "Which is also why I want you and everyone else to remain vigilant at school. Where were you when the lockdown was issued?"

"At the school track, Pops." Shaggy replied. "And speaking of the lockdown, I thought I might have noticed something when we were ordered back into the school building."

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Like, on my way back to the building, I happened to be looking around and I thought I have catch a glimpse of some suspicious-looking guy watching us." Shaggy explained.

"Oh really?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can you describe the suspect?"

"Like, the guy was standing a distance away watching us, sir, so I couldn't get a good look of him and his face." Shaggy replied as he gathered his memory. "However, I can tell that he was wearing a dark brown fedora and a dark-coloured trench coat."

"Alright." Sam nodded. "I'll have the officers to be on the lookout for that man and have them review the security footages from near the track."

The police chief then got up and left, leaving his son and Daphne.

A while went by before Daphne asked, "Norville?"

"That's the name that's on my birth certificate and any other official documentation." Shaggy explained. "But I don't mind the nickname. In fact, I kind of liked it better than 'Norville'."

"Ah, then Shaggy it shall be, then." Daphne nodded. "And I didn't know your father is Chief of Police Rogers."

"Yeah." Shaggy said. "Like, there's a reason why the cops have to report on my status when they were at the gym during the lockdown, and there's a specific unit within the department that is in charge of protecting the chief and his family."

"Wow." Daphne remarked. "It's like having your own private security, although it is a good idea that you don't abuse that privilege."

"Of course." Shaggy agreed. "My father worked really hard in getting to the top, and my sister and I have promised him to not mess things up."

"That's good to know." Daphne nodded before they went on to discuss several other topics.

During this time, Shaggy happened to see Velma sitting alone at her usual spot having her lunch, with Fred seated a few seats away from the girl watching her as he ate his lunch.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	5. At the library

**Author's note: After some thoughts and consideration, I will be placing my ongoing story _101 Great Danes_ on indefinite ****hiatus due to lack of inspiration.**

* * *

Chapter 5: At the library

 _October 13, 1988_

It has been more than a week since Debora "Debbie" Golonka disappeared during a visit to the library of Coolsville Central High School.

In spite of the best efforts of investigators of the Coolsville Police Department, she was nowhere to be found, along with the previous girls that has went missing. As the days went by, it became clear to Chief of Police Rogers that the case is going down into the books as unexplained disappearances.

There were orders for the officers to be on the lookout of the suspicious-looking figure Shaggy saw on his way back to the school building during the lockdown, but the search turned up fruitless.

As neighbouring Big City is hit with yet another massive crime wave, leaving the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt with their hands full, as well as the Toth League being too occupied with other problems elsewhere and Team Quest busy dealing with the crime lord Dr. Julius Zin, it was clear to the police that they will need a miracle of sorts to have the disappearances solved.

That morning, Shaggy and Daphne's English class were given an assignment that required research at the school library. The assignment topic was related to their assigned reading, in this case the famous Agatha Christie novel _Murder on the Orient Express_.

Later that afternoon, Shaggy decided to stay at the school library to do some research on his chosen topic for the English assignment.

Placing his copy of the novel on the desk, along with his binder and pencil case, Shaggy went over to the literature section of the library to search for a book related to literary criticism.

During the search, he heard a handful of books falling off a bookshelf and a familiar-sounding "Ouch!"

Turning to look, he saw a pile of books near Daphne while Fred was standing nearby.

"Sorry about that." He apologized to the redhead. "I should've waited for you to finish your search."

"It's okay." Daphne replied as Shaggy walked over to join them.

"Like, need any help?" He offered to help clean up the mess.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Shaggy." Daphne said as Fred started picking up the books. "But thanks."

"No problem." Shaggy nodded as he walked back to his table to get down with his research.

During this time, he noticed Velma was seated alone at a table reading a scientific journal.

Shrugging, he returned to doing his research before noticing an extra copy of the novel, as well as a purple binder and pencil case.

He figured out who had joined him at the table just as the owner of the said items returned.

Daphne smiled at him as she took her seat, with Shaggy nodding back at her before taking notice of Fred joining Velma at the latter's table.

As he got down to work, he noticed Suzie Chan heading further into the library, probably to search for another book.

An hour went by before Shaggy decided to take a break from his assignment. As he stretched his arms, he saw Henry Chan, Suzie's oldest brother, approaching him.

"Hey, Shag." Henry said as he greeted Shaggy.

"Like, hey Henry." Shaggy replied. "What's up? You seem worried."

"Have you seen my sister Suzie?" Henry asked.

"Suzie? Like, I saw her about an hour ago. She went to the science fiction section of the library, if I'm not mistaken. Why?" Shaggy asked.

"Have any of you seen her leaving the library?" Henry then asked urgently.

"I don't think so." Daphne spoke up. "Maybe you should ask the librarian Ms. Bergman. She may have seen her leaving the library."

"I did." Henry replied. "She told me she didn't recall seeing her leaving the library."

Daphne turned to Shaggy as the latter remarked, "That doesn't sound right at all. Who could stay at the science fiction section of the library for over an hour without returning to the tables here?"

"Exactly." Henry nodded. "I only hope that..."

Before he could finish, the lights suddenly went out.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed. "What just happened?"

"I don't know." Henry replied, but before he could continue, a ghostly holler echoed through the library.

"Students of Central High School: Beware!" The ghostly voice hollered. "Stay out of the school library!"

"Holy moly, I don't believe it!" Fred's voice can be heard as the ghostly figure emerged. "It's the ghost of Jacob Henderson, the founding principal of Central!"

"You have be warned!" The ghost of the school's first principal continued. "Stay out of the library, or pay the price!"

The ghost then disappeared into the dark back area of the library before the lights returned.

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed as she looked around after the lights returned. "Did anyone see that girl that was at the table next to us?"

"You mean April Stewart?" Fred asked when he remembered who Velma was talking about.

"I saw her a minute ago before the lights went out." Daphne replied. "She's not here now!"

Shaggy was silent as he tried to think back to the moment when the ghost appeared.

With his hands on both ears, he recalled hearing what he thought to be muffled sounds of someone being grabbed.

He then looked towards the bottom of the table April was using and saw marks indicating that she was dragged away during the lights out.

"Like, someone must've grabbed her during the lights out!" Shaggy pointed out. "There are dragging marks on the carpet floor near where she was seated!"

The others looked towards where Shaggy was pointing at. Sure enough, there were dragging marks near the table.

"You're right, Shaggy!" Daphne said. "Someone did grab April during the lights out!"

"Whoever grabbed April must've done the same to my sister Suzie!" Henry added.

* * *

A short while later, the police were at the library once again.

Lieutenant Charlie Chan was distraught when he learned that his eldest daughter Suzie was one of the two girls that went missing, and it didn't help that his eldest son Henry was among the students were at the library when the ghost appeared.

"從今天起，你們放學如果需要去圖書館做功課或複習的話，你們去最近的市立圖書館去做!" (Starting today, if you need to study or do your homework at the library after school, do so at the nearest public library branch!) Charlie ordered his two eldest sons after Henry broke the news about Suzie's appearance and Stanley came over to join him.

"我們知道，爸爸。" (We know, Pop.) Stanley said. "But do you have any idea who may have done this?"

"Not right now." Charlie shook his head.

As Charlie was speaking to his two eldest sons, Sam was speaking to Shaggy and Scooby, who had just came over to join Shaggy upon hearing of the news.

"Were you kids able to recognize the ghost that appeared, son?" Sam asked.

"Yes, Pops." Shaggy nodded. "That ghost was that of the school's first principal Jacob Henderson."

"And prior to the ghost appearance, none of you remember seeing any suspicious-looking character around here, did you?" Sam asked.

"I'm afraid not, Chief Rogers." Fred replied. "But Shag did discover some drag marks from where April was taken during the ghost appearance."

"I see." Sam nodded thoughtfully before asking, "And none of you ever saw Suzie Chan again after she went to the science fiction section of the library."

"That's right, sir." Daphne nodded. "About an hour after we last saw her, Henry came over to us and asked if either of us had seen her, and then the lights went out and that ghost appeared."

Sam sighed as he turned to the officers and investigators at the scene.

"It's already bad enough that we've got three, four students of Central that went missing in the past couple of weeks or so, and now we've got a ghost appearance to deal with, men." The chief of police sighed.

"Indeed, chief." One of the officers agreed. "We sure are going to need help for something like this."

"Like, too bad the _Mysteries Five_ are out of town this week." Shaggy frowned as he crossed his arms and leaned against the table. "They usually deal with mysteries like this."

"Not to mention that the Daring Duo of neighbouring Big City are still busy with their stuff." Sam added. "If things get any worse, I'll have to contact my friend in Gotham City and see if he can loan that Bat-nut to us."

"That nut will appear in this city if we're lucky, chief." An investigator that was transferred from Gotham City interjected. "His city is his priority. It's pretty much on par with how Coolsville was prior to your ascension to the ninth floor, chief."

As the officers were speaking to the chief, Scooby was sniffing the drag trail Shaggy had pointed out earlier.

"Like, you found something, Scooby?" Shaggy asked as he looked at the Great Dane.

"Reah." Scooby nodded. "Ri think Ri got a scent."

At that moment, Daphne gasped, "Jeepers! Did your dog just talk, Shaggy?"

"Yes, he did." Shaggy nodded. "All members of his family can speak."

He then turned to the Great Dane and added, "Like, you got April's scent, Scoob?"

Scooby nodded.

"Then, maybe we should go follow Scooby." Fred suggested. "Perhaps we can find out what happened to April and the others."

"Great idea." Velma agreed. "I only hope Cousin Nicole doesn't get too worried about me."

"And I can use an adventure." Daphne added before turning to Shaggy and asked. "What about you, Shaggy?"

"Like, I've got to watch over Scooby in case something bad happens to him." Shaggy replied. "He's my best buddy, you know."

As the four kids prepare to follow Scooby, Sam walked to them.

"Listen, do you kids have any idea what you may be getting into?" He asked.

"What do you mean by that, Chief Rogers?" Fred asked the chief of police.

"What I meant is that you five all know the risks related to detective work, do you?" Sam said to the gang.

Fred, Velma and Daphne looked at each other while Shaggy and Scooby looked at the chief of police.

"Like, we'll be careful, Pops." Shaggy said. "As I mentioned before, if Scoob and I encounter trouble, we'll be racing for the nearest station house in a split second."

"It's not just that, Norville." Sam said to his son. "You kids should be aware that detective work is among the least safest occupations, due to frequent encounters with anyone that could pose a threat to the general public and uncovering some truths that others wanted to remain hidden."

"I've once helped my Dad do some sleuthing, Chief Rogers." Fred said. "Trust me. I'll make sure we all return in one piece."

Sam paused for a minute before nodding.

"Very well, then." He said. "Make sure you all come back and if you're lucky, with the missing students."

The gang nodded before following Scooby as he sniffed out the trail of April's scent.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	6. The accident and a secret passageway

Chapter 6: The accident and a secret passageway

As the gang followed Scooby as he sniffed for the scent, Sam made a brief eye contact with Velma.

The glasses-wearing girl recognized the officer that informed her of her parents' accident, and her face expression turned sad.

Seeing the sad expression on Velma's face, Sam sighed as he remembered the fateful day he first met her.

FLASHBACK - Ten Years Ago

 _August 11, 1978_

The day started out as a normal work day for the police captain in charge of the department's Major Crimes Division when he received a phone call.

Upon answering the phone, he learned about the serious car accident on Coolsville County Route 19 located at the outskirts of Coolsville and the need for a search and recovery team, due to the fact that the vehicles involved in the accident had fell down the nearby cliff.

About thirty minutes later, he was at the scene directing search and recovery crews and officers in recovering the debris from the crash, as well as finding survivors.

"Make sure you send in the rescue dogs before pulling the wreckages out!" Sam ordered as the officers gathered around him. "If any of you find any survivors, signal the rescue crews so they can get the survivors to safety!"

"Yes, captain!" The officers agreed before they and the rescue crews get to work.

As the officers and rescue crews get to work, Sam looked around and examined the roadway.

It may have been years since he was honourably discharged from the Army Corps of Engineers with the rank of lieutenant, but he knows a road curve when he sees one.

Observing the curve where the crash took place, he noted that the speed limit of that particular section of the road was too high for one to navigate the curve safely.

It wouldn't be that bad if it didn't rain the night before, and the police captain took note of the skid and tire marks from a nearby puddle.

Examining those fresh tire marks, he can tell that one of the cars involved in the crash attempted to overtake a slow-moving vehicle ahead, then the driver saw something that resulted in the brakes being applied.

Seeing the skidding marks on the road, Sam figured that the driver wasn't able to stop the car before it crashed into the guard rail and fell several metres down the cliff.

Looking around, he saw an advertisement sign on the other side of the road. It appeared to be placed too close to the road, and judging from the speed limit of the curve, Sam figured that even if the driver was obeying the speed limit, the sign's obstruction prevented him from seeing any of the traffic travelling in the opposite direction through the curve or the guard rail above.

In addition, he couldn't help but wonder why the pavement markings at the curve were broken yellow lines, which indicates that it is safe to pass a vehicle by travelling in the opposite-direction lane. For a curve like that and a speed limit like that, he thought that the markings should be two solid yellow lines, indicating that it is not safe to pass.

Making a mental note to speak to transportation safety investigators when they arrive, Sam turned his attention back to the search and rescue effort.

By that point, the rescue crews have finished assessing the wreckage. Sadly, there were no survivors, so next comes the gruesome task of recovering the dead and the wreckage itself.

Eventually, the recovery efforts were complete, and as the most senior-ranking officer at the scene, Sam ordered the area to be closed off until transportation safety investigators arrive at the scene.

The first of the investigators arrived at the scene 30 minutes after the first responders started clearing the scene. One of them was an old friend of the police captain from their times in the army.

"Hey Sam." The investigator said as he approached the police captain. "Long time no see!"

"Well, if it isn't Marvin Lillard, old buddy!" Sam replied as he greeted his friend. "Too bad we have to meet in such circumstances."

"Indeed, Sam." Marvin nodded as he surveyed the wreckage. "I suppose you remember what we've learned back in the army, eh?"

"I do." Sam nodded. "And I can tell that whoever designed this curve did a terrible job. The speed limit is too high for one to be able to navigate the curve safely, let alone pass another vehicle, and I have no bloody idea why were the pavement markings in broken lines."

"I agree, Sam." Marvin said as he looked at the roadway. "I smell a major design flaw and a negligence lawsuit coming up."

While the two men were speaking, the police managed to get the bodies onto the stretchers, to be transported to the coroner's office for their relatives to claim.

As one of the bodies was being placed onto a stretcher and being pushed to the ambulance, Marvin recognized the face.

"Oh, dear Lord..." Marvin said as he recognized the face. "That's Steve Dinkley!"

"You know him, Marvin?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." Marvin nodded. "We met after you and I were discharged from the army, before I started working for the transportation safety board. He was a brilliant electrical engineer and his wife Cassandra, who I also know, is a chemistry professor. They've got a daughter named Velma."

Shaking his head in pity, he continued, "The little girl's going to be devastated."

Sam nodded solemnly before asking, "Do you know where the Dinkley's live? Perhaps any relatives that can take care of the girl, Marvin?"

"Hmmm..." Marvin thought for a while before replying, "I do know that Cassandra had a young cousin named Nicole, who had recently finished her PhD in Mechanical Engineering. She was quite close to both her cousin and first cousin-once removed."

"Alright." Sam nodded. "You'll be doing me a favour by finding her address and inform her on what has happened when you're finished your work here."

"Actually, Sam, I can give you her address, as well as Steve's address, and you can do the next of kin notification." Marvin said.

"Sure thing, Marvin." Sam nodded as he took out a note pad and a pen.

Once Marvin gave him the address, Sam then gave him his business card as he said, "Here's my card, Marvin. It has my home and office phone numbers on it. Call me when you discover something."

"I sure will, Sam." Marvin nodded before the police captain took his leave.

As the transportation safety investigators carried on with their work, Sam gathered the remaining officers around.

"Alright, men. After you're done here, have the remaining victims identified and then go for the next-of-kin notifications." Sam ordered before turning to the patrol lieutenant and added, "Stevens, you'll be in charge while I'm gone. Make sure the men had their reports dropped off at my office at the Major Crimes Division by this afternoon."

"No problem, Sam." Lieutenant Stevens nodded before Sam took his leave.

* * *

A short while later, Sam arrived at the first address Marvin had given him. It was in an apartment building and he had to reveal his badge to the camera before being let in by the secretary at the reception desk.

"Here goes nothing." He thought to himself as he rang the doorbell to the apartment and then waited.

Moments went by before the door opened, revealing an attractive young woman in her late-20s and wearing glasses on the other side.

"How may I help you, officer?" The woman asked.

"Are you Nicole Welker?" Sam asked.

"Yes, I am, officer. Is there a problem?" Nicole nodded and asked, detecting a somber tone in Sam's voice.

"I apologize for the intrusion, Miss Welker, but I regret to inform you that your cousin Miss Cassandra Dinkley and her husband Steve were victims of a horrific car accident this morning." Sam replied.

"Cass and Steve?" Nicole gasped. "Oh no! What happened? Are they all right?"

"As far as we know, they were attempting to make a pass on Route 19, only to have skid on the wet pavement, crashed into a few other cars before crashing into the guardrail and plunged down the cliff." Sam said. "Regrettably, there were no survivors in the accident."

There was some silence from the young lady before she started to broke down.

"I'm sorry." Sam said as he went to comfort her. "Mr. Marvin Lillard told me you were close with Mrs. Dinkley and her daughter Velma."

"Yes, Cass and I were really close." Nicole sobbed. "She was a sister to me and Velma was a cute little angel. She is going to be devastated when she learns that her parents won't be coming home."

* * *

A short while later, Sam and Nicole were at the Dinkley's house.

Nicole sighed as she knocked on the door while Sam looked on.

Several moments went by before the door opened, revealing a babysitter taking care of a five-year old Velma.

"Miss Welker!" The babysitter exclaimed, and Sam can detect the woman's British accent in her voice. "What a surprise! Mrs. Dinkley wasn't expecting you, but Velma sure will be happy to see you."

She then noticed the somber look on her face before adding, "Say, what seems to be the matter? You don't look quite good. And what's that police officer doing here?"

"I've got sad news." Nicole replied. "Cousin Cass and Steve got into a serious car accident."

"My word!" The babysitter exclaimed in shock. "Are they all right?"

"Sadly, no." Sam shook his head. "Their car skidded on the wet pavement while attempting to make a pass on Route 19 before crashing through the guard rail and plunged several feet down the cliff. There were no survivors in that accident."

"Oh no." The babysitter said as she turned to Velma.

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" The five-year old girl asked. "Are they alright, Cousin Nicole?"

Nicole kneeled down before replying, "I'm afraid Mommy and Daddy aren't coming home, Velma. I'm sorry."

Velma paused for a moment before breaking down and cried, and Sam kneeled down to give the girl a comforting hug.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Is there a problem, Chief?" Charlie asked the police chief, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Uh, not really." Sam replied. "Just thinking about something I did years ago."

Meanwhile, Fred noticed Velma's sad expression as they followed Scooby.

"Still missing your parents, Velma?" He asked sympathetically.

Velma nodded. "The police chief is the officer that informed me and Cousin Nicole of the car accident ten years ago."

"A shame what happened to your parents." Daphne said. "My father's company rebuilt the highway curve after the accident, but sadly, it wasn't enough to bring your parents back."

"And I remember my father representing several of the relatives of the crash victims in a class-action lawsuit filed against that Gosnell and Associates." Fred added.

"It was a good thing that the transportation safety investigator that investigated the accident scene was both an old friend of Pops and a family friend of your late-father." Shaggy said. "Because that's how he knew about your mother's cousin and arranged for her to become your guardian."

"Yeah." Velma nodded and sighed. "Cousin Nicole was like a mother to me."

It was then that Scooby stopped as the reached the back area of the library.

"Like, what's the matter, Scoob?" Shaggy asked.

"Ri lost the rent, Raggy." Scooby replied.

"Jinkies! Did your dog just spoke?" Velma asked as she and Fred gasped.

"Yeah." Shaggy nodded. "All members of his family can speak."

"Anyways, what could've caused Scooby to loose the scent?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah." Fred agreed. "I read that rubbing your feet with onions or travelling through water could cause that."

"Which isn't possible." Velma said. "There's no body of water around here."

"Like, that particular bookshelf does look weird to me." Shaggy said as he gestured towards a particular bookshelf. "I don't know why, but it seems like it's hiding something."

"You mean that there could be a secret passageway hiding behind it, Shag?" Daphne asked.

"There's only one way to find out, gang." Fred said. "See if there's some switch around here that could, perhaps, open the bookshelf."

Everyone else nodded before splitting up and getting down to the search.

For a while, the search turned up fruitless and the gang gave up shortly after.

"I guess maybe your hunch was wrong, Shag." Velma said.

"Yeah." Fred agreed. "There's no switch around here."

The blonde then leaned onto the bookshelf, only for it to rotate and causing him to fall onto the floor as the bookshelf opened up and revealing a secret passageway.

"Jinkies, are you okay, Freddie?" Velma asked as Daphne came to his aid.

"I think so." Fred replied as he rubbed his forehead.

"Turns out you're right, Shag." Daphne said. "There is a secret passageway from here. No wonder Scooby lost the scent."

"Yeah." Shaggy nodded as he peeked into the passageway. "Now I wonder where does this passageway lead to? Sure looks dark and spooky."

"Reah." Scooby agreed as his teeth chatter.

"We have to get going." Fred said. "The kidnapped girls could be in danger."

"Right." Velma agreed as they entered the passageway, anxious on what they might encounter.

* * *

 **Sure wonder what awaits the gang in the passageway? Stay tuned, and please read and review!**


	7. A split-up and the discovery

Chapter 7: A split-up and the discovery

The gang silently made their way down the dark passageway as Scooby continued to sniff out the scent.

"I sure wonder what was this secret passageway used for?" Fred wondered.

"Like, I read somewhere that it was used as a bomb shelter before." Shaggy remarked.

"A bomb shelter?" Velma asked. "Perhaps it was for an event of a nuclear war, back when relations were extremely tense between us and Russia."

"Well, let's hope we don't find any surprises." Fred says.

"Especially spooky ones." Shaggy added.

"In the meantime, we should've entered with flashlights." Daphne said. "I can't see a thing in this total darkness."

As Daphne was speaking, they unknowingly reached a fork and in the process, Shaggy and Scooby took the passageway on the left while Fred and the girls took the one on the right.

"Maybe we should hold each others hands." Velma suggested. "That way, we won't get lost in this darkness."

"Great idea, Velma." Fred smiled as they reached out to grab each others hands.

The first hand Fred managed to hold was Velma's, who he recognized from feeling the size of the hand he's holding and remembering the size of Velma's hand. Next came Daphne's left hand.

"Shaggy, Scooby." Daphne said as she tried to reach her hand to the duo. "Take my hand!"

However, there was no response from the duo.

"Shaggy? Scooby?" Daphne repeated. "Did you guys hear me?"

Still no response.

"Shag?" Fred called out. "Scooby?"

There was still silence as the trio realized that they had just unintentionally split up.

"Uh oh." Velma said. "We just lost Shaggy and Scooby."

"They must've been grabbed by whoever was responsible for those other disappearances!" Daphne said urgently. "Perhaps that ghost grabbed them while we weren't looking!"

"Or maybe it's just that we passed by a fork in the passageway and they unknowingly took the other path." Fred said. "But there's no backing down now. We'd better see what's on the other end of this passageway."

Velma and Daphne nodded in agreement as they carried on down the passageway.

 **(Shaggy and Scooby)**

Meanwhile, on that other passageway, Shaggy and Scooby were walking as usual.

"Like, it will be better if we had a flashlight or something, Scooby." Shaggy said. "I can't see a thing in this total darkness. We sure can use a light switch."

Just as he finished the sentence, the nearby lights went on.

"Thanks, Scooby." Shaggy said.

"Ruh?" Scooby asked, confused.

"For switching on the lights." Shaggy replied.

"Ri didn't ro rit." Scooby shook his head.

Shaggy stopped. "Like, if it wasn't you, then who did?"

His question was answered by a ghostly sound hollering, "Get out!"

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as he and Scooby clinged to each other. "A g-g-ghost!"

The duo then took off running, not caring if a ghost was nearby or not and unaware that a speaker with a camera was nearby watching them.

It wasn't long before the duo reached an area with a handful of statues on both sides of the passageway.

"Like, what are these statues doing here?" Shaggy asked.

"Ri don't know." Scooby shrugged as they looked around.

"I only hope we don't end up running into that creepy ghost again." Shaggy said. "But better yet, where are Fred and the girls?"

"Ri rope rey didn't vanish." Scooby shivered as they looked around cautiously, unknowingly backing into one of the statues.

The statue titled backwards and causing the duo to fall backwards.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as Scooby exclaimed, "Ripe!"

 **(Fred, Velma and Daphne)**

In that same time, Fred and the girls continued their way down the passageway when Daphne subconsciously reached into her purse and felt something tube-like. Her thumb touched the switch and the purse started glowing.

"Oh, what do you know." Daphne said. "I had a flashlight with me!"

"How come you didn't use it before when we entered the passageway?" Fred asked. "We could've saved ourselves the trouble of accidentally splitting up with Shaggy and Scooby."

"I guess I just forgot about it." Daphne shrugged as she took out her flashlight and shined the area ahead of them.

The trio continued walking on until they reached a dead end.

"Oh great." Fred sighed. "A dead end. What now?"

"Hmmm..." Velma said as she observed the ground and noted several pieces of concrete.

"Is it just me or does it sound like the ceiling's leaking?" Daphne asked as they heard dripping.

"There is a leak indeed." Velma nodded when she saw a thin flow of water flowing down the wall and coming from the ceiling. "I wonder if..."

Velma rolled up her sleeve as Fred and Daphne raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing, Velma?" Fred asked.

Velma responded by making a fist and punched the wall in front of them. Amazingly, the wall crumbled on impact, as if a certain man growing up in Smallville and developing super powers had punched it.

"Jeepers!" Daphne exclaimed as Fred whistled in amazement.

"Just as I thought." Velma said. "When I saw the pieces of concrete on the floor, I immediately figured that the wall was hastily built after the tunnel was dug. And with the water dripping nearby and seeping through the ceiling for decades, the concrete was eroded, which explains why I was able to punch the wall and make it crumble easily."

 **(Shaggy and Scooby)**

The duo got up after falling backwards into a secret wall behind the statue, where they found themselves in a room full of treasure and ancient artifacts, complete with a couple of bookshelves and a large desk in the middle.

"Wow. Look at all of this kooky stuff!" Shaggy said as he and Scooby looked around. "This place could be a museum!"

"Reah." Scooby agreed as he tries on what appeared to be an ancient crown, which made him look like a sultan.

"And take a look at this map." Shaggy added as he leaned over to take a look at a nearby map. "It looks like it's dated back from the Renaissance era."

"Rand rhat's ris Lazarus Pit?" Scooby enquired as he took note of several dotted areas on the map with the labels accompanied by English translations, which appeared to be written recently.

"Who cares?" Shaggy said. "Let's just try to figure a way out of here, Scoob."

Scooby nodded as they walked back to the statue that led them into the room, only to find that it wouldn't bulge.

"Oh great!" Shaggy said. "If we don't find a way out of here soon, we're going to be permanent displays of this museum!"

"Roh no." Scooby whimpered.

 **(Fred, Velma and Daphne)**

Meanwhile, Fred and Daphne had finished listening to Velma's explanation.

"What do you suppose is behind these walls?" Daphne asked.

"There's only one way to find out." Velma replied.

"Right." Fred nodded as he made a fist and started punching another wall. The wall in question soon crumbles on impact, revealing a door.

"Just as I figured." Velma said as they stared at the big wooden door that appeared. "Someone clearly was in a rush in sealing whatever's behind this door up. Perhaps something no one has set eyes on for centuries."

The trio leaned over to push the door open, revealing the secret room Shaggy and Scooby are inside.

"Shaggy! Scooby!" Daphne exclaimed.

"What are you two doing in here?" Fred asked as they entered.

"Like, we were trying to hide from a ghost." Shaggy replied. "It spooked us after we split up by accident."

"I wouldn't blame you two for that." Daphne folded her arms. "This system of tunnels looks really creepy with all of the darkness."

"Anyways, what is this place?" Fred asked.

"Seems like a storage room for ancient artifacts." Velma replied before her eyes settled onto a book and added. "Jinkies! I think I found something!"

"Is it a way out of here?" Shaggy asked.

"No." Fred leaned in and looked. "It looks like a journal."

"And it belongs to Jacob Henderson, the school's founding principal!" Daphne added.

"Let's see what this journal tells us." Velma said as she begins to flip the pages while the others leaned over to look.

* * *

 **What exactly will the gang find in Jacob Henderson's journal? Stay tuned, and please read and review!**


	8. The discovery and meeting the professor

Chapter 8: The discovery and meeting the professor

The gang leaned over and looked on as Velma begin flipping through the pages of the journal.

"'This is one secret that will be buried with me in my grave.'" She read. "'No one will learn of it ever.'"

"What kind of secret?" Fred raised an eyebrow.

"Hopefully, it's a way out of here." Daphne said. "My parents will get worried if I don't arrive home in time for supper."

"I'm afraid whatever the secret Principal Henderson was talking about is buried with him." Velma replied. "This was the entry from the final page of the journal. All the pages after this page were ripped out."

As Velma was speaking, Scooby started sniffing the nearby floor, near a fireplace. His sniffing soon brought him to a piece of paper that appeared to be burned on the edges.

"Like, what did you find, Scooby?" Shaggy asked as he noticed Scooby picking up the piece of paper and handed it over to him.

"What did Scooby find, Shag?" Daphne asked as Shaggy took a look at the paper.

"Hmmm...this piece of paper appeared to have been ripped and burnt." He replied. "I can't really read the handwriting on it, though."

"Let me see." Velma said as Shaggy handed her the piece and examined it before reading, "'Night's Dream...Enstein...Scandalin...Eighty...' That's all. He must've torn the pages out and threw them into the fireplace. Scooby found a clue."

"If it's a clue, what do these words or phrases even mean?" Fred wondered as he rubbed his chin.

"Search me." Shaggy replied before gesturing towards a nearby painting and added. "There is that painting of a night sky over there."

"It doesn't look like someone in the painting is dreaming." Velma frowned as she looked at the painting in question.

"And what kind of significance does the number 80 hold?" Daphne added.

As the gang thought for a while, Shaggy and Scooby turned their attention to the bookshelf, hoping to find an answer.

Walking over to the bookshelf, he pulled a book out and blew the dust from the cover.

"While we're trying to figure out what that message means, let's have some green eggs and Hamlet." Shaggy said as he flipped a page before adding, "Scoo-by or not Scoo-by. That is the question."

"Wait a minute!" Velma snapped her fingers. "Correction: You mean, that is the answer!"

"What do you mean, Velma?" Daphne asked.

"Those words on the burnt-out page are book titles!" Velma replied as she walked over to the bookshelf and found the books they needed.

She first grabbed a book and tossed it to Shaggy, who read, "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

She then tossed a second book to Daphne, who read, "Frankenstein."

The third book was tossed to Fred, who read, "A Scandal in Bohemia."

Finally, she grabbed the fourth book she needed and read, "Around the World in Eighty Days."

One by one, the gang walked over to the desk and opened their respective books and flipped through the pages. During the flipping, they each found a drawing in between the pages.

Taking out each of the drawings, they saw that they fit together into what appeared to be a map.

"Jinkies! All the pieces fits into a floor plan of sorts!" Velma remarked as they fit the pieces together. After some closer examination, she added, "It's a floor plan of the old Coolsville Academy back when it was a small, single-storey manor."

"A manor owned by Principal Jacob Henderson." Daphne pointed out as she read the title of the floor plan and noted that it's a floor plan for the Henderson Manor.

Shaggy leaned in and took a closer look at the floor plan before saying, "Whose basement we're currently in. And there're markings indicating secret passageways."

Before Fred could say something, they heard an entranceway creaking open.

"Like, what's that?" Shaggy asked as they turned around, towards the source of the creaking.

"We better hide, gang." Fred said, and they moved quickly to find a hiding place.

Shaggy and Scooby hid under the stone desk as they peeked out. From where they were hiding, the duo saw a grandfather clock opening up, revealing a dark passageway and footsteps.

Fred was hiding behind the bookshelf, and as he looked towards the passageway in question, he saw a claw-like shadow approaching.

"Jeepers!" Daphne whispered urgently. She and Velma were sharing the same hiding spot as Fred. "You don't suppose..."

Before anyone can answer, the footsteps became more pronounced before a tall muscular figure emerged from the passageway. A man.

Everyone sighed in relief as the man emerged from the passageway.

The man was wearing a tan-coloured suit, along with black dress shoes and has a blond comb over, in addition to wearing a pair of thick, ellipse-shaped glasses.

As the gang looked on, they noticed that the man's left hand is missing and is replaced by a claw-like mechanical device.

Scooby swallowed as they watched the man enter the room and looked around before eying the floor plan the gang just assembled.

"Someone was here recently..." The man hissed under his breath before he heard a sneeze.

Scooby sniffed after the sneeze, and Shaggy glared at him. "You've blew it, Scoob. That guy just..."

"Who's there?" The man bellowed. "Show yourself! If you're that blasted thief that stole my invention, you're going to have me to answer to!"

"What invention?" Velma enquired as she shared a look with Fred and Daphne.

As the man looked around, he noticed a brown tail and his eyes narrowed as he walked over.

Shaggy and Scooby, hearing the man approaching them, tried to sneak away, only for the man to see them.

"What do you think you're doing here?" The man demanded as he spotted them.

Shaggy and Scooby stopped in their tracks and looked up with the man looking at them sternly.

"Uh...like, we just lost our way and...uh...ended up in this room...and..." Shaggy replied as he and Scooby grinned nervously before the man grabbed them by the wrist.

"You two happen to know where did my invention went, do you?" The man asked, and the gang can detect an East European accent in his voice.

Shaggy and Scooby both swallowed and shook their heads. "Like, what invention?"

"Let them go, whoever you are!" Daphne suddenly spoke. "Nobody treats my friends like that!"

The man paused, turned and looked. Daphne, Fred and Velma have emerged from their hiding place with their arms folded.

"What do you kids think you're doing here?" The man hissed.

"We can ask the same thing, mister." Fred replied with a frown.

"It's none of your business!" The man replied. "Unless you kids have something to do with the theft of my invention!"

"What invention?" Velma asked. "If you really think we have stolen the invention, why do you suppose we will come here, assuming this is where your invention was stored."

"And more importantly, what does your invention have anything to do with the Henderson Manor?" Daphne asked.

There was some silence before the man sighed and raised his right hand. "I think we need to clear some things up."

"So who are you?" Fred asked. "And what are you doing here?"

"I am Professor Phineus Phibes." The man introduced himself. "I'm an exchange professor from Kaznia, currently teaching in Big City University with mechanical engineering as my field of study."

"Wait, are you the professor that built the prototype of a special sonic drill that could create devastating impacts to the ground when the drill is fired?" Velma asked excitedly. "I've read about it in the mechanical engineering journals published by Wayne Enterprises."

"That's me." Phibes pointed a thumb at himself proudly before frowning and added, "And that's the invention I was talking about."

"The one that was stolen?" Shaggy asked.

"Yes." Phibes nodded. "As I mentioned before, if you fire the drill at the ground, the impact can be devastating, not to mention that the consequences are unimaginable if the prototype were to fall into the wrong hands."

"Hmmm..." Fred thought for a while before saying. "Professor, could the theft be related to a string of disappearances at our school?"

"Is that why you kids are here?" Phibes asked. "Were you trying to locate your missing schoolmates?"

"Precisely." Daphne nodded. "We got here through a secret passageway from the school library, which is where many of our schoolmates disappeared."

"I see." Phibes nodded understandingly before noticing Scooby staring at his mechanical claw-like left hand. "And in case you kids were wondering, I had an accident while performing an experiment years ago."

"That explains a lot." Velma said with a nod.

"Like, when you initially showed up through that passageway, I thought you were that evil Doctor Claw, Professor." Shaggy remarked, mentioning the main antagonist of one of his favourite animated series _Inspector Gadget_ with a chuckle.

"Well, this gadget can actually change into different gadgets like a Swiss Army knife." Phibes explained. "It's really useful for my line of work, except that I can't go out during thunderstorms."

"Why's that?" Velma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because the nature of the accident in the experiment that costed me my left hand involved electricity." Phibes replied. "It left me with a condition that makes me a living lightning rod."

The gang nodded understandingly.

"Anyways, what made you think that your sonic drill prototype is in the old Henderson Manor, Professor?" Daphne asked.

"Well, Wayne Enterprises has been sponsoring an archeological dig near the Manor to find the old treasure left behind by Jacob Henderson." Phibes explained. "There's no doubt that if someone knew about the sonic drill in the company, he will steal it from me and use it for the dig to get to the treasure first."

"Wait, you mean that there's treasure buried under the school, Professor?" Shaggy asked.

"That's right." Phibes nodded. "The first principal of your school was a very wealthy man. In addition to owning the manor, he owned countless pieces of priceless artifacts as you see here in this room. But these artifacts aren't the only priceless treasures he owns. There are rumours that he owned an underground chamber filled with gold-made artifacts worth billions."

"Where could this underground chamber be?" Fred asked.

"It's supposedly buried somewhere in the manor grounds." Phibes explained. "But one thing to note is that such operations requires a lot of labour."

"Whoever stole your prototype must've dressed up as the ghost of Jacob Henderson to scare off anyone who might've gotten suspicious and kidnapped our schoolmates to help him find the treasure." Velma said. "Will you like us to assist you in your search, Professor?"

"I'll be happy to oblige." Phibes smiled. "We're going to need that floor plan you kids have assembled."

"So where do we start?" Fred asked. "More importantly, how do we get out of this room?"

"Follow me." Phibes replied as he gestured towards the passageway he had entered earlier, only to see Scooby racing off ahead of him. "Hey you!"

"Ruh?" Scooby paused and turned to the professor.

"I said follow me." Phibes said as he grabbed Scooby by the collar and dragged him back. "I didn't _say_ go ahead!"

The professor then carried on down as the gang looked on in shock by the professor's sudden outburst before they proceeded to follow him.

Unbeknownst to Phibes, Fred or the girls, Shaggy had a frown on his face as he glared at Phibes for what he did to Scooby earlier.

"Strike one." He muttered under his breath.

* * *

 **So the gang has finally met Professor Phineus Phibes (The main antagonist in _Shaggy and Scooby Get a Clue!_ ). However, Shaggy is starting to have suspicions on what the professor is up to.**

 **Stay tuned, and please read and review!**


	9. The split up and strike two

**Author's note: After some thinking and consideration, this story is going to also incorporate some elements from _Batman: The Animated Series_ episodes _Off Balance_ and _The Demon's Quest_.**

* * *

Chapter 9: At the manor, captured, the escape and the split up

The gang followed the professor down the passageway. Most of it seemed quite dark, and they needed a flashlight in order to be able to see where they're heading.

"So where are we heading, Professor?" Fred asked Phibes as he lead the way.

"According to this map and my calculations, we should be back in the Henderson Manor in no time." Phibes replied.

"Where you think your sonic drill prototype is hidden at?" Velma raised an eyebrow.

"A good place to start, at least." Phibes replied. "And close to where the archaeological excavation is taking place at."

"Right." Fred nodded as they carried on.

Eventually, they reached the manor, and when they exited the passageway, the gang noted that it was also opened by a grandfather clock.

"So this is the Henderson Manor." Daphne said as they looked around, finding themselves in what appeared to be a living room.

"Yes, it is." Phibes nodded, but before he could continue, the manor started shaking as if there was an earthquake.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as Scooby leaped into his arms. "Wh-what's going on?"

"Feels like an earthquake!" Daphne said.

"No, it's not an earthquake." Phibes said. "It's my sonic drill at work!"

"Does that mean that it's nearby, Professor?" Velma asked.

"Yes." Phibes nodded. "Yes indeed. If I'm not mistaken, those vibrations came from the back yard."

"Then, that's where we're going." Fred said as he motioned the professor to lead the way.

Amid the vibrations from the suspected drilling, the gang followed the professor to the manor's kitchen, where there was a back door.

Phibes lead them to a nearby bush at the backyard, where they hid behind them and peeked from their hiding spot.

From their hiding spot, the gang and the professor saw a hooded figure overseeing dozens of familiar-looking figures as they evacuate the site with that hooded figure operating what appeared to be a drill.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy whispered as he peeked from the bushes. "That hooded figure is using that drill to drill the ground!"

"And one of those figures evacuating the site looks like April!" Fred added as he recognized one of the figures.

"And there's Henry's sister Suzie!" Daphne added as she recognized another.

"We've got to think of something to save those girls!" Velma said before turning to Phibes and added, "What do you suggest we should do, Professor?"

Phibes appeared to be in deep thought and didn't reply, and Velma guess he was trying to think of something.

During this time, the hooded figure turned off the drill and turned to the missing girls.

"Now go in and retrieve the treasure that is rightfully mine!" He barked at them.

"A treasure rightfully his?" Fred wondered.

As the gang looked on from their hiding place, no one noticed that a bee was buzzing by and flying around Scooby's tail.

Scooby's tail felt irritated by the buzzing and started swinging around, trying to shoo the bee away.

However, the move seemed to provoke the bee and it revealed its stinger before making its move.

Just as Phibes thought of something, Scooby exclaimed, "Yeow!" as he was stung by the bee.

Shaggy was quick to move his hand to cover Scooby's mouth to silence him, but the damage was already done as Scooby's yelp in pain attracted the attention of the hooded figure.

"Someone's nearby!" The hooded figure hissed as they turned towards the bushes, where the yelp had came from. "Go check and see who's snooping around!"

The captured girls all nodded and obeyed as they stormed towards the bush.

"Uh oh." Fred said. "We've got company!"

"We'd better get out of here." Daphne suggested.

"Great idea, Daph." Shaggy agreed as they tried to make their getaway, only for the figure and the kidnapped girls to spot them.

"Aha!" The hooded figure hollered as they caught the professor and the gang. "Spying on us, eh?"

"What have you done with my sonic drill?" Phibes bellowed at the figure. "Give it back to me!"

"Not until I get what I came for." The figure retorted.

During this time, the kidnapped girls surrounded the gang as they tried to get their missing schoolmates to stop.

"Guys!" Daphne said to the girls. "It's us! We're your schoolmates, coming to rescue you all!"

"I don't think they're listening to us, Daphne." Fred said as the girls ignored her remark and continued to charge towards the gang.

"Like, they all looked like they're in a trance!" Shaggy said. "Let's get out of here!"

Everyone else nodded in agreement, but the hooded figure caught sight of their attempted escape and huffed, "Don't even think of getting away."

He then went to the sonic drill and switched the settings to "Earthquake Mode" and turned it on before aiming it towards where the gang were racing towards.

"Guys, wait!" Velma shouted when she realized something, but before she could continue, the hooded figure fired the sonic drill right at where they were racing at.

The ground beneath the gang then crumbled and gave in, and they found themselves falling down a pit.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy shouted as they started falling.

"Jeepers!" Daphne exclaimed.

"Jinkies!" Velma shouted.

That was the last thing the gang all remembered before everything went black.

* * *

A short while later, Shaggy found himself waking up as he rubbed his forehead.

"Oh..." He said as he sat up and looked around. "What...just...happened?"

"And where are we?" Daphne added as she, too, regained consciousness, followed by Scooby, Fred and Velma.

"I'm not sure." Fred replied as he rubbed his forehead. "But it looks like an underground dungeon to me."

"More like an underground prison cell." Shaggy corrected as he motioned towards the door with all the metal bars.

"Wait, has anyone seen Professor Phibes?" Velma looked around and asked.

Before anyone can answer, a voice said, "Don't worry. The professor is in safe hands."

Everyone turned and looked. It was the hooded figure that they spotted using the sonic drill earlier. It was difficult to see his/her face in the darkness with the hood on, other than a glowing pair of red eyes.

"Who are you?" Fred asked.

"And what do you want?" Daphne added.

"My name is not important." The figure replied. "What you kids need to know is that the Henderson treasure rightfully belongs to me!"

"But what's this got to do with our schoolmates?" Velma asked.

"Well, you see, kids." The figure explained. "I need help to excavate the treasure, and I figured that the best way to do it is getting cheap labour to help do the job."

"By kidnapping our schoolmates and hypnotize them into excavating the manor for you?" Shaggy folded his arms. "That's child labour, you know, especially since they're no older than 18 years old and are doing heavy work resembling mining."

"Why should I care if I'm using child labour?" The figure sneered. "Point is, soon the Henderson Treasure will be all mine, and one of the treasures holds key for my plans for world domination."

"What kind of key?" Fred asked.

"An ancient artifact that allows one to become immortal, as well as control the thoughts of others." The figure smirked. "Once I get my hands on that artifact, the world will bow to their new master!"

"You won't get away with this, mister!" Fred said angrily. "Release us or you'll be sorry!"

"Huh, yeah, that's right." The figure retorted before turning to the two girls and added, "Girls, keep a sharp eye on those two prisoners, will you?"

"Yes, master." The two girls replied before the figure left.

* * *

As they were left in their cell alone, the gang poundered on an escape plan.

"There's got to be a way for us to get out of here." Velma said. "If we don't act, our friends and the professor will be in big trouble."

"And the whole world, too." Fred added. "With this ancient artifact that allows one to become immortal and control thought."

"We've got to think of something." Daphne said.

Shaggy and Scooby were silent as they looked around their cell before noticing an air vent.

"Gee, and I thought this place was part of Principal Henderson's estate." Shaggy remarked as he gestured towards the air vent.

"You're right, Shaggy." Velma nodded when she saw the air vent Shaggy was gesturing at. "This place was supposed to be built before the widespread use of air vents in buildings."

"Maybe they did a renovation." Shaggy offered.

"To me, it looks more like our ticket out of here, gang." Fred said. "Let's go!"

The gang, one by one, proceeded to climb into the air vent with Fred leading the way and Shaggy and Scooby behind the girls.

As they tried to figure their way through the air vents, Shaggy asked, "Like, so do we go get the cops now?"

"No, Shag." Fred said. "We're going to find the professor first, then we'll try to find more information on the Henderson Treasure and then stop that hooded figure."

"Oh, the professor?" Shaggy sighed.

"What's the matter, Shaggy?" Daphne asked as she detected a sign of bitterness in Shaggy's voice when he mentioned Phibes. "Something bothering you?"

"Like, I've got this suspicious feeling that all of this is not what it seems." Shaggy replied.

"You mean what the professor said to us?" Velma asked.

"Yeah, like the theft of his sonic drill prototype." Shaggy nodded. "I've been thinking about what he said and I can't help but feel that there's more to this than meets the eye."

"Now, Shag." Fred said. "I'm sure all of this will work itself out in the end."

"I don't know, Fred." Shaggy replied. "I don't know."

* * *

A short while later, the gang managed to find the professor's cell and they were soon in the deserted passageway in the tomb.

"Alright, so what's the plan, Fred?" Shaggy asked as they reached the entrance to the excavation.

"I was thinking that we're going to have to split up, guys." Velma said before Fred could reply. "You and Scooby can go with the Professor while Fred, Daphne and I do our research on the Treasure of the Henderson Manor."

"Actually, not a bad idea, Velms." Fred nodded and smiled.

"And I suppose you want us to keep an eye on that thief, right?" Phibes asked.

"That will be the case, Professor." Velma nodded.

"Very well, then." Phibes said. "Let's get moving."

Scooby nodded before proceeding to take off down the passageway, only for Phibes to grab him by the collar again.

"I'll go first if you don't mind." Phibes said as he dragged Scooby back. "I didn't say for you to go ahead of me, mutt."

The gang were surprised by Phibes' outburst but didn't say a word as they split up.

As Phibes made his way down the passageway, Shaggy and Scooby followed suit with Shaggy's face sporting a frown.

The same frown he had on his face when Phibes dragged Scooby back the first time when they were in Jacob Henderson's study.

"Strike two." Shaggy muttered under his breath as he and Scooby followed Phibes.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	10. The Daemon Ritus and captured

Chapter 10: The Daemon Ritus and captured

 **(Shaggy, Scooby and Professor Phibes)**

After the split-up, the trio made their way further down the passageway with the professor leading the way.

"Keep quiet and don't make a sound." Phibes instructed Shaggy and Scooby. "We don't want that thief and his hypnotized friends catch us."

Shaggy and Scooby both nodded without saying a word, the former still feeling suspicious about the professor.

Once they reached a fork in the passageway, the trio were about to debate which direction to take when they heard footsteps.

Silently, they hid behind a wall and took a glance as the source of the footsteps walked by.

It was the hooded figure, accompanied by Arlene Wilcox and Sharon Wetherby.

"Like, it's Arlene and Sharon!" Shaggy whispered to Scooby, who nodded. "There's got to be a way for us to get them out of their trances."

"I'll think of something." Phibes said. "But right now, we've got to stop that thief from stealing the treasure!"

Unaware that three of their escaped prisoners were hiding nearby, the hooded figure turned to Sharon and Arlene.

"You two go check on our prisoners while I go check out the progress of the escalation." The hooded figure ordered.

"Yes, master." The two girls nodded before heading off on one of the passageways while the hooded figure took the other.

"Uh oh." Shaggy said. "We're going to be in big trouble if they found our cells empty, Professor. Should we further split up and perhaps, Scoob and I can go after our schoolmates and bring them out of their trances?"

"Don't worry." Phibes replied. "It's a large place anyways. They're going to have to spend at least an hour finding us in here, according to my calculations and analysis. Let's go!"

Shaggy and Scooby nodded as they silently followed the professor, who directed them towards the passageway the hooded figure took.

The trio silently shadowed the hooded figure down the passageway, with Scooby looking back to make sure no one is following them.

Eventually, they reached another part of the tomb where they found the sonic drill, along with the hooded figure and more of their hypnotized schoolmates.

"There's the sonic drill!" Shaggy said before turning to Phibes and added. "What's the plan, Professor?"

Phibes' face formed a frown as he was in deep thought for a plan.

 **(Fred, Velma and Daphne)**

Meanwhile, Fred and the girls managed to reach the room where they first encountered the professor in the manor.

"I hope one of these books can give us some information on that fabled treasure that fiend mentioned." Fred said.

"As well as giving us a way to help get our schoolmates out of their trances." Daphne added as they walked over to the bookshelves.

The trio then grabbed a few books from the shelves and started skinning through them.

"Let's see here..." Fred trailed off as he begin going through the books he found.

One by one, Fred and the girls sorted through the bookcase until Velma came upon the book they were looking for.

"Jinkies!" She remarked as she picked up the book she found. "This book gives us a detailed description of the priceless treasure we've got in this room."

"From the Renaissance Era?" Daphne asked as she and Fred leaned over to join.

"Yes." Velma nodded. "However, this book mainly details the treasure that was from the Ottoman Empire at that time."

She then flipped through the pages before founding a treasure of interest. "And I think I just found the fabled treasure that fiend was after."

Fred and Daphne leaned closer to the pages as Velma read.

"The Daemon Ritus is an ancient magical artifact and it was fused together through dark magic by an evil sorceress long ago." Velma read. "It may look like a small-scale model of a pyramid, but it has the power to grant immortality to the holder and absorbs the consciousness of everyone else."

"This must be the artifact that hooded fiend that has been hypnotizing our friends is searching for!" Fred said.

"Yeah." Daphne agreed. "If we don't find a way to stop him, we'll soon be in big trouble!"

"The question, though, is how?" Fred asked. "We don't even know how did our friend hypnotized our schoolmates!"

Velma didn't say a word as she continued to scan the text in the book she was reading. Eventually, she spoke, "Maybe we do."

"Huh?" Fred and Daphne both asked as they turned to face her.

"It also says here that in order to activate the full power of the artifact, the holder must utilize the Darkopolypse Ritual, a spell. This spell grants the holder of the Daomon Ritus hypnotism powers and when used together with the artifact, it collects the brain powers of the hypnotized victims and fully unlocks its full power." Velma said. "However, it also says here that the holder cannot use the artifact on a rainy day or near a body of water, such as a lake or ocean, as moisture coming from water can disrupt the flow of the power coming from the artifact and the spell."

"Water!" Fred snapped his fingers. "That must be the way for us to free our schoolmates from the trance they're all under!"

"Then, we have to be quick!" Daphne said. "I'm sure our hooded friend must be sending someone to check on our cells and we'll be in big trouble if they found our cells empty."

"Right!" Fred agreed. "We've gotta find Shag, Scooby and the professor!"

Velma nodded as they grouped up and raced back out of the manor.

 **(Shaggy, Scooby and Professor Phibes)**

Meanwhile, the professor was still thinking when the drilling suddenly stopped.

"Hey." Shaggy whispered. "They've stopped drilling! What's going on?"

Phibes' raised his eyebrows at the question as they turned their attention back to the dig. It was then that they saw the hooded figure emerging from the site, laughing.

As the trio looked on closely, they saw that he was holding a small artifact in the size of a pyramid.

"Oh no." Phibes said when he saw the artifact the figure was holding.

"What's the matter, Professor?" Shaggy asked.

"That artifact..." Phibes said, pointing towards the pyramid-shaped artifact held by the hooded figure. "It's the Daemon Ritus! This is an ancient magical artifact that's one of the most powerful artifacts of all time!"

Shaggy's eyes widened.

"Like, you mean it's the artifact that grants its holder immortality and the ability to control the thoughts of others?" Shaggy asked.

"Precisely." Phibes nodded glumly.

"Then, how do we stop that figure?" Shaggy asked.

Phibes thought for a brief moment before saying, "We're going to have to split up. One of us is going to distract that fiend and attract his attention, and someone else is going to grab that artifact and then make a run for it while the whole party is distracted."

"Sounds like a dangerous plan to me." Shaggy shivered with Scooby swallowing.

"You boys got a better idea?" Phibes asked.

Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other before the swallowed and nodded. Then, Scooby marched forward, intending to be the one distracting the hooded figure.

As Scooby marched forward, Shaggy glanced at the professor, expecting him to make a move.

Seeing that Phibes didn't move to drag Scooby back, Shaggy nodded to himself as if to confirm something before joining Scooby.

At that moment, the hooded figure was laughing evilly.

"Success!" He exclaimed as he held the artifact triumphantly. "Soon, the whole world is going to bow to their new master!"

Just then, the professor heard footsteps coming and hid in the nearby tunnel.

Those footsteps came from Sharon and Arlene, who then saw Shaggy and Scooby sneaking off.

"Master!" Sharon shouted. "We came with bad news!"

"Yeah!" Arlene agreed. "The prisoners have escaped!"

"Oh, is that so?" The hooded figure asked. "No matter. I've got what I've came for, children, and it is time we put the Darkopolypse Ritual in motion!"

"Darkopolypse Ritual?" Shaggy asked before turning to Scooby. "Doesn't sound good to me, Scoob."

"Reah." Scooby agreed as he nodded nervously. "Ret's get out of here!"

Just then, two lengths of rope were wrapped around the duo.

"Wha-?" Shaggy said before founding himself and Scooby facing their two hypnotized schoolmates. "Zoinks!"

"Relp!" Scooby exclaimed as the girls tied him and Shaggy up.

"Ah!" The hooded figure said when he spotted Shaggy and Scooby struggling. "We've got two volunteers to test out my new powers!"

"Volunteer?" Shaggy asked. "I didn't volunteer for something that will allow someone to control my thoughts!"

"Re neither!" Scooby agreed as he struggled, to no avail.

"No matter." The hooded figure said. "Take them to the back yard of the Henderson Manor. We will begin the ritual in due time!"

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as the girls tied him and Scooby up. "Help!"

Safe from his hiding spot, the professor saw the hypnotized girls following the hooded figure as they dragged Shaggy and Scooby out of the tunnel and made their way to the back yard of the manor.

After the coast is clear, he quickly rushed over to find Fred and the girls.

When Fred and the girls arrived at the back yard of the Henderson Manor, they saw Shaggy and Scooby tied up above a camp fire on a platform of sorts as the hooded figure held the artifact triumphantly.

"Oh no!" Fred said when he saw the Daemon Ritus. "We're too late!"

"And Shag and Scooby are in big trouble!" Daphne added.

"And where is the professor?" Velma asked.

Just then, Phibes rushed over to them.

"Professor!" Fred exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"I am, but I don't think your friends are going to be in any moment!" Phibes puffed as he tried to catch his breath. "I tried to grab the artifact while they were supposed to distract them, but they ended up getting caught."

"We can see that." Velma said. "But right now, there's something you should know about the artifact!"

"What is it?" Phibes asked. "Besides the fact that it can grant the holder immortality and the ability to control other people's thoughts."

"The artifact only works fully when they perform a certain ritual, which I believe is what they're about to perform." Fred said.

"However, it cannot be performed on a rainy day or when near a body of water, as the water moisture can disrupt the flow of the power coming from the artifact!" Daphne said.

"Water!" Phibes said. "That's the key!"

"Yes, and I think I just had a plan on how to put a stop to this!" Fred added before motion the professor, Velma and Daphne to huddle in before outlining his plan.

After the outlining, the girls and Phibes all nodded.

"Let's hope this works!" Velma said.

* * *

 **What plan does Fred in mind? And will they be able to save Shaggy and Scooby in time?**

 **Stay tuned, and please read and review!**


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